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Table 1 Participants’ demographic information

From: Social conditions of becoming homelessness: qualitative analysis of life stories of homeless peoples

Pseudonym

Biographical data

Education history

Childhood living arrangements

Summary of participant’s family and social history

Emotional and physical health

Onset of and trigger for homelessness

Ruddle

Age: 60

Gender: M

Address: Flat for homeless people

Age of leaving school: 16

Type of school: local school

Performance: very poor

Behaviour: shared accommodation

Grew up with both parents

Dad died and house sold when participant was 15

Disruptive family life

‘If I need see a doctor I just walk into A&E’

Both parents had died by the time he was 15

Ian

Age: 74

Gender: M

Address: Street

Age of leaving school: 16

Type of school: local school

Performance: very poor

Behaviour: in trouble with school authorities

Grew up with both parents

Normal working class family

No health problems

Breakdown of relationship

Patrick

Age: 64

Gender: M

Address: Flat

Age of leaving school: 16

Type of school: local school

Performance: very poor

Behaviour: disruptive behaviour

Raised by both parents

Left home at age 15

In prison twice for theft

Both parents never worked, both parents alcoholics

Bad heart, kidney and liver

Became homeless after release from prison

Lee

Age: 35

Gender: M

Address: Street

Age of leaving school: 15

Type of school: mainstream school, ‘a rough school’

Performance: ‘I was in lowest set’

Behaviour: truancy and challenging authorities

Raised in children’s care

Parents split up when he was 13 years old

Chaotic family life

‘I was 15 when I left school’

Arrested at 18, followed by several episodes of time in prison

‘[I’ve been to] A&E that many times because of accident[s]’

‘You are out, she couldn’t cope but I was only 17’

‘She kicked me out again when I was 18’

David

Age: 31

Gender: M

Address: Street

Age of leaving school: 16

Type of school: kicked out of high school, went to special school

Performance: very poor

Behaviour: disruptive behaviour

Foster care

Neglected by his mum

‘Hepatitis C in my liver’

Depression

Became homeless soon after leaving foster care at 8.

Maladaptive behaviour, excessive alcohol use

Marco

Age: 46

Gender: M

Address: Street

Age of leaving school: 16

Type of school: ‘moved several schools’, ‘finished in school for the naughty boys’

Performance: very unpleasant school experience

Behaviour: engaged in several fights, bullied

Boarding school for boys with challenging behaviour

Very abusive family – physical and emotional

Multiple failed relationships

Memory problem

‘I am on medication that doesn’t permit me to use any machinery’

Bad back, ruptured disc and nerve damage

Breakdown of relationship with partner

Alvin

Age: 39

Gender: M

Address: Hostel for homeless people

Age of leaving school: 16

Type of school: local school

Performance: very poor

Behaviour: in trouble with school authorities

 

Dad died when he was 13

Trained as bricklayer, after recession worked in factory

Started using drugs and alcohol

Depression

Anxiety disorder

Marriage breakdown due to financial stress and alcohol addiction

Barry

Age: 43

Gender: Male

Address: Hostel for homeless people

Age of leaving school: Law degree at University of Oxford

Type of school: local school

Performance: very poor

Behaviour: in trouble with school authorities

Family home; middle class family

Joined the army at 18

Went to university after discharge from the army

No medical problems

Kicked out by parents when found out he was gay.

Relationship breakdown

Evicted while at the hospital

Clarke

Age: 18

Gender: M

Address: Hostel for homeless people

Age of leaving school: 16

Type of school: local school

Performance: very poor

Behaviour: in trouble with school authorities

Family home, raised by mum and stepdad

Bullied at school

Physically abused by stepdad

Grand-dad, who he was very close to, died when was 16

Left home at 16. Unable to get council accommodation because he under 21. Lived in the street for two years

‘Feel low all the time’

Breakdown of child-parent relationship

Physical abuse by stepdad

Excessive alcohol use

Danny

Age: 44

Gender: M

Address: Hostel for homeless people

Age of leaving school: 16

Type of school: local school

Performance: very poor

Behaviour: in trouble with school authorities

Raised by both parents

‘I left school at sixteen, straight away I got married and had children. I was married for seventeen years. I was a roofer for ten years. When marriage broke up I turned into alcoholic. I moved back with my parents. It got really out of control. I was getting in trouble with police’

Depression

Anxiety disorder

Marriage breakdown

Alcohol and drugs

‘I was getting in trouble with police’

Emily

Age: 23

Gender: F

Address: Hostel for homeless people

Age of leaving school: 16

Type of school: local school

Performance: very poor

Behaviour: challenging behaviour

Single parent

Labelled as naughty child at school, ran away from home at 16. Lived with friends on night-by-night basis

Had a job in Morrisons [supermarket] when 18, dismissed due to bad behaviour

Kicked out of several hostels

ADHD

Breakdown of relation with mother

Use of drugs and alcohol

Finn

Age: 24

Gender: M

Address: Hostel for homeless people

Age of leaving school: 16

Type of school: ‘moved around many schools around the country’

Performance: very poor

Behaviour: numerous fights at school

Single parent;

transient

Single mum with several partners

Moved in with brother at 16

Secured a job in convinience store

Depression

Kicked out by brother due to socially unacceptable lifestyle

Goeff

Age: 32

Gender: M

Address: Hostel for homeless people

Age of leaving school: 16

Type of school: local school

Performance: very poor

Behaviour: in trouble with school authorities

Family home; raised by both parents

‘Parents died at young age. Lived with sister for a bit, fell out with her and ended up in the street. Been in the street for about 14 years’

‘It started by going to jail at 16, I was in and out of jail for the past 16 years’

  

Gary (John)

Age: 35

Gender: M

Address: Hostel for homeless people

Age of leaving school: 16

Type of school: mainstream school

Performance: very poor

Behaviour: in trouble with school authorities

Raised by mum and stepdad until age 11

‘I worked as a joiner. I lost both my parents at a very young age. I lost my dad when I was four and lost my mum when I was eleven. Raised by my nan until the age of sixteen’

‘I went to jail when I was 16 years in Liverpool, spent two years there’

‘I have been assaulted that many times, that is where anxiety comes from’

‘I was depressed. I suffer from anxiety and depression’

Alcoholism

Epilepsy

Alcoholism

Relationship broke down

Ended up on the street

Guy

Age: 26

Gender: M

Address: Hostel for homeless people

Northwich

Age of leaving school: 16

Type of school: mainstream school

Performance: ‘I left with no GCSEs’

Behaviour: challenging behaviour

Dad was in the military

‘I used to smoke a lot of weed. I worked for Network Rail’

Jailed for drug possession. Since leaving school he has completed six jail sentences for motorbike theft

No health issues

‘I used to smoke a lot of weed and spice’

‘My parent kicked me out of the house while I was jail’

Henry

Age: 29

Gender: M

Address: Street

Northwich

Age of leaving school: 15

Type of school: boarding school for pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties

Performance: very poor

Behaviour: aggressive and disrruptive

Raised by stepdad and mum

‘I’ve NVQ 2 in electric, NVQ 2 in cooking, NVQ 1 plumbing’

‘My mum was phyically abused by my stepdad, he used to beat her up. When they split up, my mum was taken to the care home where they used to look after her’

‘I was in jail when I was sixteen’

Asthma

Anxiety

Digestive disorder

Suicidal

Paranoia through smoking cannabis

Physically abused by mum and stepdad

‘First time they kicked me out I was about 15, but my mum kept getting me back in’

Ian Cath

Age: 42

Gender: M

Address: Street

Age of leaving school: 16

Type of school: mainstream school

Performance: very poor

Behaviour: good behaviour

Raised in a normal family

‘Normal childhood, went to school, passed all my exams. Joined the army, spent six years in the army. After that I was pensioned out because I had head injury in Bosnia which led to me having epilepsy. I went to France to train as a chef, I worked in the US, Hong Kong, France’

Epilepsy

Marriage breakdown

‘Evicted from flat, ended up in the street.

Been homeless for a year’

Tom

Age: 36

Gender: M

Address: Street

Age of leaving school: 13

Type of school: assessment centre

Performance: ‘didn’t do well at school because of being abandoned child’

Behaviour: ‘expelled from school for disruptive behaviour and taking drugs and getting into crime. I was off the rails to be honest.’

Children’s home

‘I was abandoned by my mother when I was 12. I was then put into care. I was placed with my dad when I was 13, who physically abused me, then sent back to care’

‘Life at home was chaotic, my mum and dad split up when I was eight. My dad was a very bad alcoholic and mum was very promiscuous’

Self-harm

Personality disorder

Severe anxiety disorder

Paranoia disorder

Depression

‘Slept rough on and off since I was 13’

This time we were evicted due to bedroom tax

Marie

Age: 35

Gender: F

Address: Street

Age of leaving school: 13

Type of school: Mainstream

Performance: poor

Behaviour: challenging behaviour

Children’s care home

‘Had a bad childhood because I was sexually abused by my father when I was 13… social services knew about it because my mum’s friend rang police on him’

Migraine

‘Blackouts, hypertension and now infection in my breast due lack of hygiene’

‘Slept rough for the past three months; evicted due to bedroom tax

Leo

Age: 42

Gender: M

Address: Street

Age of leaving school: 16

Type of school: Mainstream school

Performance: very poor

Behaviour: in trouble with school authorities

Raised by single mum

‘I left school at 16. I went to do B Tech, passed that, I went to another college, I did B Tech in National OAD, got a job at Morrison’s supermarket’

‘I got diabetes when I was 29’

‘I lost my dad to cancer when I was ten, my mum moved to a smaller house which was like a retirement village’

Diabetes

Evicted for missing payment due to own chaotic life’

Norma

Age: 31

Gender: F

Address: Hostel for the homeless

Age of leaving school: 16

Type of school: Mainstream

Performance: ‘left the school before the exams’

Behaviour: ‘disrruptive

Foster care;

several children’s homes until age 6, then foster care

‘I got sexually abused by my father when I was six. So we were put into care. He abused me when I was five and raped me when I was six. Lived in foster care as well as several children’s homes from age of 6 until 16. I moved in with my sister and we have a big argument …she kicked me out and rang police on me and had [a] year[‘s] restraining order, and then I was basically in the street all the time’

‘I have been picked up by police many times. People come up to me kick me, beat me, because I am homeless on the street’

Sleep apnoea

Epilepsy

Depression

Self-harm

Suicide attempts

‘When my two boys were taken off me and put into care, that was when my drinking spiralled out of control.’

‘I have been in the street solidly for three years now’

Crewe

Age: 58

Gender: M

Address: Flat

Age of leaving school: 15

Type of school: boarding school for pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties

Performance: very poor

Behaviour: challenging behaviour

Foster care

‘My childhood was not all that good because my parents were strict. Me and my sister were separated, we were fostered out. I was fostered out with my brother to a couple in Stockport, my sisters were put into couple in Macclesfield’

‘From 1968 to 1973 I was in boarding school. I left boarding school, started work car washing in Brookly Street and I did nine years as tyre fitter’

‘I was put into prison at the age of 16 for arson, that was a cry for help to get away from the family. I came out after nine months. I have been in prison four times in my life, it’s not very nice, when I came out I made a promise to myself that I’m never going to go back to prison again’

Depression

Self-harm

Suicide attempts

Angina

IHD

Homeless every time he comes out of prison

Paddy

Age: 35

Gender: M

Address: Hostel for homeless people

Northwich

Age of leaving school: 16

Type of school: mainstream school

Performance: very poor

Behaviour: in trouble with school authorities

Raised by mum and stepdad until age 11

Disruptive home life, parents separated at young age. Ran away from home at the age of sixteen, and became homeless for a while until social services got involved

Depression

Anxiety disorder

Alcoholism

Is on Librium

Epilepsy

Heavy alcoholism and relationship breakdown

Matt

Age: 33

Gender: M

Address: Street

Age of leaving school: 16

Type of school: local school

Performance: very poor

Behaviour: challeging behaviour, smoking cannibis at school

Foster care

Disruptive family life, broken family

Moved in with partner at 17. Had two children, children taken into care by social services

Drugs and alcohol, relationship breakdown

Alcoholism

Drugs and alcohol, relationship breakdown,

Milly

Age: 31

Gender: F

address: Street

Age of leaving school: 16

Type of school: Mainstream

Performance: ‘left the school before the exams’

Behaviour: ‘used to get bullied because of my abuse experience’

Put into foster care; several children’s homes until age 6, then foster care

I was in care until I was 15 and moved back with my mum and my mum die within two months of me moving in. ‘I was still in care order until I was 21’

‘When my mum died I was out in the street drinking all the time and never stopped’

Depression

Anxiety disorder

Self-harm

Suicide attempts

 

Kieran

Age: 38

Gender: M

Address: Street

Age of leaving school: 16

Type of school: Mainstream school

Performance: very poor

Behaviour: in trouble with school authorities

Went to children’s home at fourteen

Started using alcohol and drugs at the age of 13

Went to prison at the age of 17

Hearing voices

Depression

Lost accommodation due to drug addiction

  1. Legend: 1 illustrates participant’s education history, childhood living arrangements, brief participants’ family and social history, emotional and physical health, the onset of and trigger for homelessness